


Miranos

by Bad_Wolf



Category: Starship - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, F/M, NSFW, Slow Burn, taz is a little shit, up dies for like a month, up is a taller shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 13:56:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10664043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bad_Wolf/pseuds/Bad_Wolf
Summary: This is the story of a girlwho cried a river and fought the whole worldand while she looked so angry in photographs,I absolutely love her, when she smiles.-Up probably recently recovering from a concussionI'll probably be adding two chapters everyday. Until I run out and have to keep writing.





	1. Up

The squealing of machines and the roar of their oil spewing motors filled his ears. The screaming of hydraulic breaks and the smell of burnt rubber was all that he could sense. With a sudden burst of energy he managed to throw his weight into the robot attacking him, he gripped the edge of a broken beam and swung his boot into the robot, impaling it on the other half of the broken beam. Up allowed himself to fall into the carnage that lay underfoot, a mix of human and robot entrails, and rested for a few precious moments. The carnage that lay before him was nothing new; weakly, he struggled out of the pile of smoking robots and human remains. The impaled robot was still functioning, Up dug around for a zapper, found one off a dead comrade and used it to kill the robot. The overpowering stench of the battlefield made him sneeze. He grimly looked over his battlefield, cursing silently, where did those goddamned autobots retreat to? With difficulty, he slid down the pile of broken robots he had managed to defeat. It looked like the main battalion had given him up for dead. He furrowed his forehead, where could they have headed? There were no big cities nearby... His crackling radio brought his attention to the mission he had probably failed.

"Shit!" angrily he spat on the ground, trying to get the taste of motor oil and copper wires out of his mouth before answering, "Lieutenant Up. Out." There was a moment of static then," UP!" the voice at the other end screeched, "You're alive!" He held the radio away from his face, grimacing, "The only one alive. The rest of my squad was... murdered. Or in pursuit of the autobots."

Shakily, the voice on the other side responded," Well, the good news is that someone from your squad managed to place a tracer on the autobot leading the main attack. Your squad managed to decimate more than two-thirds of the original group. The Commander wants you to head back to base. There's nothing more you can do Lieutenant."

"Got it," heavily, Lieutenant Up turned back, snagging the discarded zapper from the ground again. He should have been exhausted, he probably had several broken ribs and a fractured leg but with the adrenaline pumping through him, all he could discern from his surroundings was the blood and motor oil mixing at his soles as he started his trek back to base.

Up propped himself against half a wall and tried to figure out where he was headed. The standard issue tracker was still functional according to the static pinch he felt when he touched the nape of his neck. GLEE would hopefully send someone out to retrieve him…

Ten minutes later he began seeing medics converging on the battlefield behind him. Some offered to help him but he waved the green-swathed doctors away. With a sigh of relief he spied a dark blue and chrome jeep in the distance, bumper shining and rims spinning, the driver was a clean-cut ensign whose uniform didn't sport a single dead Goddamned wrinkle. The relief of being retrieved evaporated at the sight of the baby-faced ensign, he silently clambered into the back, refusing to look at the boy. He was too well-fed, too cheery.

"Damn sir! Your leg bone is sticking out!" The ensign twisted around in his seat.

"Shut up ensign and drive," drawled Up, before pulling his bandana low over his eyes. The ensign reddened and roughly spun the jeep towards base, zigzagging around pot holes and trees and demolished buildings, careful of the medics and their patients. Up clung to the back seat, with the adrenaline wearing off he didn't dare look at his leg; didn't dare to look at himself at all. The ensign however, wasn't as worried and he openly gawped at the lieutenant through the rear-view mirror.

The Lieutenant's left shin bone was shattered and had ripped the skin open, his chest was oddly bumpy and there was a huge gash on the side of his neck, his hands were torn to shreds, nails hung off strands of skin and several fingers were clearly dislocated. When they arrived at base, which was a collection of low slung metal and wood buildings placed in neat rows, Up jumped from the jeep and began walking to Commander's building.

"Um, Lieutenant Up?" the ensign nervously approached him from behind.

"What?" growled Up, not slowing down.

"You are  _supposed_  to report to the medical building first. Uh, sir."

He stopped and almost laughed at himself, Up had completely forgotten about his injuries. "Right." he did a right turn and limped towards the squat building with the bright green crescent moon splashed across all of its doors and roof.

Up stepped into the smell of antiseptic with undertones of blood, there were a few patients inside and quite a large number of staff lounging around.

"Lieutenant!" a lanky man angrily shouted at him as soon as he stepped foot inside the hospital, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Up shrugged and went to sit on one of the hospital beds, "I thought I'd come in and get patched before I went to report on today's mission." The medic angrily retrieved a metal trolley from the edge of the large ground floor room and threw supplies onto it before loping over to Up. He called out to some nurses to come and help him. "I meant, what the fuck do you think you're doing walking around with half of your bone exposed?" Up opened his mouth but was interrupted by the same medic, "Don't answer that! Just zip-it and don't move." Amused, Up leaned back into the soft hospital pillow and let a tiny smile float across his face before grimacing at the needle that pinched his thigh. He braved a glance at his leg, his pant-leg had been cut away, he immediately regretted seeing his own bone. "At least it was a clean break, you're a lucky sonovabitch. "

"Thanks for not being an asshole, Mac," Up rolled his eyes towards the ceiling before closing them again.

"Shit."

"What?"

Up tried to sit up but Mac pushed him back down, "I'm gonna give you local anesthesia so you'll feel completely numb but still be awake. Think you can handle the sound of crunchy bones and me moving your muscles around?"

Up grimaced," I lost my entire team today. I heard too many bones give-way before  _their_  metal. I think I can handle a few more, especially if they're mine." Silently, Mac injected him with a cocktail mix, and Up was in a stupor, day dreaming about the sounds and smells he had tolerated that day and would probably not let him have a peaceful dinner.

The blaring sirens woke him, groggily he sat up, the pain from two days ago now subsided to dull aches that he ignored. His roommates woke up as well, yawning and rubbing their eyes. Their small grey room was sparse and the ceiling was dented from people punching the roof or banging their heads on the metal sheeting.

"Wha's goin' on Up?" Asked one yawning woman.

"No idea. I'll go check," he pulled on some pants and stepped out into the hallway, which was awash in blue light. A hard-faced man trotted past and Up stepped out, saluting him," Commander Pryce? What's goin' on?" The Commander scowled, "Ensigns decided to go for a midnight jaunt in the humvees and they stumbled upon a horde of chef-bots. It's carnage out there. Get back to bed Up, there's hardly anything we can do for them. A crack team's already been dispatched anyway." Up shuddered, at first the chef-bots had been amusing and useful. But once the uprising began and Astroboy had broken from his cell, the once friendly chef bots turned their machetes and serrated knives on their customers. "Well, I would like to help at least as a guide back, if any lucky ensign hasn't been flambeaued yet **.**  "

Commander Pryce nodded, "That would be appreciated. Report to the front gates, I'll see you there." Up saluted his Commander and ran back into the room, "C'mon!"

There were groans, "They're just ensigns Up! They don't matter, why're you gonna risk your neck for their stupid asses?" Up glared at Isa, who had complained, she was a lieutenant as well but in the R&D department, she specialized in communications. "It doesn't matter, they're part of this base. I'm going, if anyone of you  _wusses_  want to join me, go to the front gates." Straightening his combat jacket and zapper sling, Up left the room. Truth be told, he didn't feel any remorse for the slain ensigns, they should have been more careful. But it was easier to face real robots than the ghost ones that appeared in dreams.

Within twenty minutes of talking with Commander Pryce, Up was seated in a dark brown and grey humvee that was outfitted with a gunner's turret and was halfway to where the ensigns had been ambushed. The Commander himself was seated next to him and carrying a strange zapper. Up eyed the red zapper, tiny flames engraved on the grip and muzzle as they bounced over dirt roads. The ensigns and lieutenants seated in the back were also curious about the strange flame-zapper. Finally, Isa broke the silence, "Sir? What in dead God's name is  _that?"_

Displaying a toothy grin, Pryce hefted it into the air. Up kept his eyes on the road, following the dull red flames that signaled where the foolish-ensigns were currently being torn to pieces. " _This_  is the newest way to kick metal-ass. It's a prototype of a regular zapper,  _plus_  it shoots hollow-point bullets coated with a gel that ignites upon pulling the trigger. Melts and kills any type of armor, skin, chitin, even metal. It's call-"

"We're almost there, sir."

A gawky ensign with tightly curled hair and coke-bottle glasses piped up from the navigator's seat.

Pryce looked mildly annoyed but continued on, "It's called the Precision Explosive Weapon. Soon it won't be a prototype or even a separate zapper! It'll be a setting for  _all_  standard issued GLEE zappers."

Up brought the humvee to a screeching halt, throwing everyone against their seatbelts, "We're here." Pryce unbuckled himself from the seat.

"Yes, lieutenant, I can see that," responded Pryce dryly," Alright you roughnecks! Go out there and do your dead Goddamned job!"

Up leapt out roaring a "YESSIR!" along with the rest of the retrieval squad. He liked the idea of that flame zapper, he hoped to have one someday.

They all fell into line, Up was near the back, instructed to protect the navigator and communications ensigns as well as participate in the rescue mission. They swiftly ran across a stand of lonely trees; on the other side were about a score of robots killing and pulling apart a terrified group of unarmed teenagers. On the commander's signal, five of the Rangers burst from the trees, spraying the robots with holes. Three seconds later, the commander with the last five ensigns and two lieutenants sprinted after them, killing even more robots. Up rushed the battlefield, roaring murder and rage.

He sprinted past his Commander and tackled the first robot he encountered, shooting it twice before rolling away and head-butting with an Easy Bake oven-bot. The giant robot pinned him to the ground, smashing his face next to the semitransparent oven door. With a yelp, Up realized that there was an ensign  _inside_  the oven-bot, slowly roasting. He wiggled out from the oven-bot, trying to shoot it in the face. The oven-bot scrambled back, several bullet holes in its torso. He pulled out a knife and threw it at the pink robot, pinning one of its many arms to the ground. With a grinding sound, Up managed to straddle it and rip out its central power cable. A shower of hot cooking oil hit Up in the chest, melting his jacket to his skin, he yelled in pain, rolling into the ground and ripping his jacket off. He began shoveling mud onto his burning skin when a dull knocking came from the inside of the dead oven-bot.  _The Ensign!_  Up pulled the slightly charred but very much alive ensign from the oven-bot's entrails. "Th-thank-" Up pushed him away, he didn't have time, "That way," he growled, pointing to the stand of trees where the navigator and Isa were currently hiding from the main fight. Up heaved the Easy Bake oven-bot over and used it as a shield whilst he shot at the remaining robots. Ten minutes later there were only about 10 left and Up was in his element. He'd taken out three more oven-bots and one party-bot, a gruesome animatron clown that use to do tricks for children's parties before the war. Crouching behind a robot corpse, he spotted three party-bots fleeing from the battlefield. He gave chase, aiming his zapper at their central cores. "Aaaagh!" A giant machete sliced into his thigh, Up rolled to the floor, managing to wedge the machete in deeper. A party-bot with a blue and pink cheshire's grin held out two more machetes, slowly swinging them around. Up rolled to his feet, aiming at the party bot's head, too late. He managed to avoid the first machete with barely a nick to his knees but the second machete caught him directly in the belly, "Oof!" Up flew onto his back.

Convinced that he was going to spill his guts like pudding, Up didn't dare move an inch. He lay there for a full ten seconds, imagining his intestines falling out in pink and red coils.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, UP? Move your ass!" Commander Pryce ran to him and jerked Up to his feet by the scruff of his neck. Up looked down and saw the machete fall away, the handle glinting with his charred skin and cooking oil, the blade clean and untouched. Realizing how lucky he'd been, Up nodded sheepishly at Pryce and followed him towards the rogue party-bots. The trail led past the battlefield, across several cornfields and towards a valley. They had lost the robots and Pryce was furious. He spat into his radio, "There are villages around here! You need to find them NOW. Do you understand that Ensign Byte?" There was no response from the other side of the radio. "Lieutenant Vasili!" A dark-skinned and muscular woman turned towards the Commander, "Sir!" "You, Up and I will go and scout the next city. That's probably where the robots headed, it would be easy to hide there. The rest of you go back and find out what happened to the navigator, and the Comm. Go!"

Lieutenant Vasili led their troupe of three while Pryce attempted to communicate with Ensign Byte and Up kept an eye out behind them. They traipsed up a steep hill that sported several scorch marks, "Oh my dead God..."

Vasili reached the top of the hill first and stopped to cover her mouth with the heel of her hand. Pryce lowered the radio and stared in horror at the scene below him. Up stood below them and slowly walked to the top of the hill. His blood ran cold to his belly and he almost dropped his zapper. The scene below him was a nightmare come to life.

The city was lit from the inside, like a jack-o-lantern on Halloween, the night sky making the flames more beautiful and terrible than possible. Without a word all three scrambled down the steep hill and split up to look for survivors. Up pulled out a dirty red bandana and tied it around his mouth to keep from breathing in the smoke. He pulled his grey bandana low over his eyes and headed off to circle the perimeter of the town, Vasili cut down the middle and Pryce circled the other way around.

 


	2. Taz

~o0o~

He knew there would be no one left, there  _shouldn't_  be anyone left. Robots never had mercy with any human, the charred bodies with twisted expressions lining the streets were a testament to that. Children with missing limbs lay in his path and Up was hard-pressed not to turn around and head down a different street. His leg was burning but the destroyed town held his attention and the pain crawling up his leg became background noise. He walked slowly, making sure to listen for calls of help or approaching robots. He stopped in front of a small shop, a broken sign declared it to be a  _Panaderia, were there voices nearby? Yes, definitely_. He could hear the artificial robotic laughter from somewhere nearby and the screaming of someone being tortured.

He spun slowly, eyes closed, straining his ears to catch the tinny human voice that needed him.  _There!_  He turned towards the center of the town and sprinted down the blood smeared streets. " _Acercate pedazo de mierda! Dejame bajar! Aver que tan valientes son!"_  Up ducked into a tall gold-colored building, it was relatively undamaged, except for the people lying in heaps of limbs and torsos near the edges.  _Had there been a party?_  Everyone was in their best threads. The furious screaming and robotic laughter continued on, deeper into the shadowy building. Sparks leapt from circuitry exposed in the walls and Up was careful to skirt those, he peered around the blasted and crumbling edge of a decorated wall.

There was food thrown everywhere in the airy ballroom, a giant blue and green cake lay up-turned near one corner of the room and about a hundred people decked out in all of their finery lay dead in piles. There were about three dead robots neatly lined up by the door where Up stood, but about half a dozen more stood in the center of the room where... Up's jaw dropped. There was  _girl_  strung up by her waist to the ceiling. He charged into the room, bellowing like a mad bull.

"Get back here,  _mija!"_ Her mother held out the hairspray threateningly, " _Andale,_ or I'll spray jou in de eyes. Tazzie..." Taz huffed over to her mother and plumped herself onto the bed. Her heavy skirts making it hard to walk. " _Mami_ , do jou still love me even though I'm not girly like Rubi?" Her mother smiled and wrapped an arm around her daughters shoulders, " _Ay,_ I would love jou even if jou were  _una muchacha muy brava._  I will love jou until de stars wink out." Taz stood and hugged her tightly," I was hoping jou'd say that."

Her mother pulled away from the hug and looked at her daughter's face, a couple of inches below her own eyes, " _Pinchi_ ," she said fondly, "I am jour  _mama_. Jou are silly for thinking that I wouldn't love jou."

Taz chuckled, " And  _papa_  always wonders where I get my swears from."

"And if you ever tell him, I'll chase you with the hot curling iron!" her mother charged at her, waving the steaming curling iron it in front of Taz's face. Taz laughed and backed up, holding her hands out in surrender, "Okay, okay!  _MAMA!_ "

She screeched, backing into the bed and falling. Loud rumbling interrupted their banter. Taz sat up and her mother rushed to the window, peering out of the two story yellow house onto thebusy street. Taz's mother pursed her lips and squinted at the sky, "Taz..."

"  _Si_   _mama?"_

"Go tell jour father to look at de weather report for today, We'll be inside, but maybe de guests need  _paraguas_."

" _Si mama."_  Taz stood and holding her skirts above the floor trotted downstairs. Humming, Taz happily skipped through the kitchen, her midnight blue quinceanera dress trailing the floor. Carefully she patted her curled hair, she was happy to have a party and dance the night away but the idea of having everyone's eyes on her the whole time made worms crawl in her belly. Yech. She practiced a few steps in the living room, gracefully twirling, already imagining the colorful lights sweeping the floor and her  _familia_  surrounding her, happy and drunk off cold  _Tecate._ She couldn't wait to cut into the cake, delicious fruity cake. She kicked the back door open with her toe, "Papaaaaaa." She bawled out into the backyard, " _APAAAAAA!"_ A tall and dark man stuck his head out of a tool shed, his mustache twitching, "Jou sound like  _un becerro,_  a baby cow,  _mi pequeno sol_." Taz laughed and beckoned her father for a hug.

Taz's mother gazed out of the window when Taz left, she fervently hoped that the Starship Rangers would keep the small city safe, today especially, for her daughter. Preoccupied, she picked up a rosario from the nightstand and ran the beads through her hands. The worn ceramic a comfort to her. Her family had already lost Rosa, Emilia and Dead God knew if Enrique was alive. His Starship, the  _Brava_  had not been seen in a year and a half.

Taz had left her  _papa_  and was now aimlessly walking through her house. She ambled into her papa's study and sat in the big leather chair, humming the vals she'd have to dance with her papa, "  _Hoy le compre a mi hija el ultimo juguete... ya crecio..."_ She trailed off when she spotted the hefty serrated Ranger knife in the glass case. Her papa use to be a Commander but retired as soon as he could to marry and settle down with Taz's mom. Quickly Taz lifted the knife from its pedestal, the blade was as twice as long as her palm and the wooden handle shone darkly. Taz rummaged through her dad's cabinets until she found the sling that went with the knife. She lifted up her dress and strapped the knife to her thigh admiring how the heft of it made her feel safe. Smirking, Taz stomped around, hitching up her dress and pretending to be an undercover Ranger on a mission to save civilians. Laughing, she skipped out of the room to show her mother.

Up rushed the room, tearing the robots apart and shooting those far enough. He was thrown to the ground by a couple of Octobots; he reached into their unprotected arm-joints and ripped out their tentacle arms. He used the tentacles as whips, tripping up more robots and then shooting them in the face. The girl had been screaming in unearthly tones, but when she spotted Up she stopped her racket and procured a knife from her skirts. She aimed the knife at the rope encircling her waist, furiously, she hacked at the rope until she fell ten feet to the floor. Up heard her land and roll in a tight ball. He rushed to her side and slung her over his shoulder.

Screaming hysterically, she pummeled his back and kicked his chest. Up winced; how was someone so tiny, so furious? "Calm down girl!" he yelled, still shooting at the four remaining robots. The girl twisted around and tried to wiggle out of Up's grip, "Let me down!  _Jodido de la puta madre! Esos pinches robots mataron a-"_ The girl began sobbing, she slipped from Up's grip and he tightened his hold on her, her weight pressing painfully on his chest wound. She was now clinging to his neck, he could feel her tears, wetting his undershirt.

Up was bewildered at her sudden mood-swing, he simply stood there, shooting down the remaining robots while a short girl in a large blue dress clung to his neck and bawled out her fury.

He ran out of the ballroom as soon as the last robot dropped, keeping his zapper at the ready. He met Lt. Vasili and Commander Pryce at the rendezvous place, out of breath and a little bewildered.

"Where the hell have you been Up?" Vasili rushed forward, only pulling short when she saw the poufy, bloody, blue bundle clinging to Up's neck. "What's  _that_ thing _?"_

"She's –" Up began but was interrupted by the girl jumping down. She was a sight; the large midnight blue dress was drenched in blood and shredded. One of her eyes was swollen shut, her cheek purpling beautifully, her hair was burnt and matted with blood. A large gash at her forehead was bleeding profusely and it stained her face a dark shade of red, "  _I_  am a woman jou piece of shit!"

Furious, Vasili jumped forward, hand raised.

Up snatched the girl from harm's way, "For dead God's sake Vasili! She's just been through hell, leave her alone!" Looking injured, Vasili snapped, "And well, what does  _she_  matter? She's not even a citizen! Just a dead goddamned useless harlot. Should'a left her where you found her."

The girl in his grip shuddered, and Up was filled with an inexplicable rage. He'd just watched this small girl fight for her life like a tigerdillo while her family lay freshly-dead underneath her.

Up snapped.

Snarling, he rounded on his friend, "What the FUCK is wrong with you?"

Vasili and even Pryce stepped back. "This girl just watched her family get MURDERED and the people who are supposed to protect, her attack her for being a victim. WELL FUCK YOU!" Up took the girl's elbow in his grip and dragged her down the hill, towards the humvee waiting for them.

"Wait!"

Up stopped and looked behind him, the girl was trailing him by several feet, the dress weighing her down. She stopped and pulled out her knife, Up stepped back, uncertain of what she was going to do. The glint in her eyes was dangerous and he didn't want to be near her with the large serrated knife, which was about as long as his palm. She bent over and began sawing the dress off, Taz wished the man would turn away but she didn't want to speak with him. Silently, she stepped away from the blue dress, black and ugly at her feet. Taz was glad for the blue camisole and lycra shorts she wore, but she still felt exposed. Embarrassed, she strapped the knife back to her thigh, "What jou lookin' at? Creep."

Without a word he stomped on, they stumbled through a thicket of trees and Taz could see what looked like the remains of a fierce battle. Discreetly she glanced at the man, Up, that walked in front of her. He had dark hair that was silvering near his nape and ears although it was hard to be sure in the low light. He was smeared in mud, blood and motor oil. She glanced back for a moment and a hot, thorny knot formed in her throat at the thought of what lay behind her. This starship Ranger was as useless as Enrique. Taz's brother should've been here today, he could've protected them, but he'd gotten himself lost, his ship MIA. Taz bit her tongue in frustration. With a silent growl she gritted her teeth, the day had torn her world apart but she couldn't,  _she wouldn't let that break her_. Looking at the man leading her way,  _I bet nothing hurts him. I puked when I saw the kids in the street but he didn't even blink._  She decided to harden into something that the world would not break, and with every step she took, the old Taz slipped away.

The girl who appreciated green trees and lazy Sundays quickly dissolved, absorbed by the silent May night. Taz looked back one last time, but she couldn't see her home anymore, just a dark patch of trees and the hill.

By the time they reached the GLEE humvee, Up had almost forgotten about the girl trailing him, he looked back and almost jumped out of his combat boots. The girl he had slung over his shoulder was gone, there was now a solid wall of freezing anger standing behind him. Up felt pity for her, first her family was stolen from her and now she seemed to think that being angry would solve everything. The robots took more than lives, they took  _people_  and turned them into the cold facsimiles of themselves. He sincerely hoped she would snap out of it, there had to be some nice adults at the refugee camp who'd help her.  _Poor kid_.

 


	3. Sharp End of the Stick

~o0o~

Commander Pryce found Up and the girl standing to the side of the humvee with a shame-faced Lt. Isa sitting in the back seat. Two more humvees had arrived to transport all of the rescued ensigns back to base. The ensigns looked exhausted and beaten within an inch of their lives. Commander Pryce raised an eyebrow at Lt. Isa but she ducked her head and he decided to deal with her later. He didn't think Up would appreciate him screaming at a Lieutenant in front of the girl. Pryce ordered them all to head back; gratefully everyone obeyed order and dragged themselves into a humvee.

Up pushed the girl into the shotgun seat of one humvee and buckled her in. When he clambered into the driver's seat and gunned the car he noticed everyone staring at him, "What?" he growled. "Why's there a chit in the front seat?" asked Isa, she had hopped into the back seat, but now leaned forward to look at Taz," It's nice to meet'cha doll, but you should be sitting in the back, it's safer." Taz looked at Up who refused to look at either of them and instead stared at the humvee that was in front of them. Taz shrugged and clambered into the back while Isa slithered to the front. Isa twisted around in her seat and made sure to buckle Taz in securely, "Now if we're hit with an IED you won't get  _totally_  blasted to smithereens." Taz cracked a tight smile. Isa turned back in her seat and whispered to Up, "I'm really good with kids."

Up followed Commander Pryce's humvee back to the base. Taz stared at everyone out of the corner of her eye. The sun was starting to rise now, orange ribbons were turning the trees yellow and green. There were three ensigns sitting in the back seat with her, one with tight curls and glasses; the other two were shell shocked and were so encrusted with mud and shit that Taz wasn't sure they were really human One in particular seemed to be handling the battle badly, he kept chattering and mumbling funny phrases.

They arrived at the base safely and everyone clambered out, stretching their muscles. The humvees were built for safety, not for comfort. Commander Pryce looked for the little girl, hoping to catch her expression when she got down from the humvee and saw her surroundings. People were usually impressed with his base, there was a green pond with a small river feeding into it. The low slung aluminum buildings were connected by dirt walkways hedged with small bushes and there were always birds in the trees . Pryce knew war was hell, so he decided to create a bit of a natural paradise in the eye of the storm for his men and women. But when the small girl jumped down she didn't bat an eye at the greenery, she didn't tilt her head to listen to the birds in the early morning chill. He frowned, but saluted everyone and gave them leave for the day.

Taz didn't really know what to do, she stood there until Up tapped her shoulder and awkwardly stuck his hand out," M'names Up. I'm a lieutenant." Taz shook his hand and didn't say anything. "I guess we should get you some more clothes huh?" Taz couldn't place his accent so she just nodded. Was it American? "I can help with that," Isa smiled and floated over to them, slinging an arm around Up's shoulders. Up shook his head, "You're  _supposed_  to report to Pryce. You messed up this morning." Isa frowned, "Fine. But if I come back without a head you're to blame." She walked away whistling, hands in her pockets.

Up turned to the girl, "What's your name?"

"Taz."

Up scratched his head, " What kinda name's that? That isn't your real name is it? Come on." He began walking towards the buildings. Shaking her head, Taz followed, "No, 's a nickname. Is Up  _jour_  real name?" Up smirked and regretted it, a throbbing pain trailed its hot fingers across his face.

"No, ‘s my last name. ‘S realer that yours." He opened a door for her and bowed her inside. Taz scowled at him, not sure if her was making fun of her; she didn't like jokes or pranks.  _Her mother often called her a sore loser_ , Taz clenched her eyes shut and steered away from that train of thought. "Mac?" Up pushed past her, calling out into the empty hospital building. A thin man stuck his head out a curtained area.

"What?" He wore round glasses.

We need her bandaged and some new clothes for her. Mac approached them, scowling, he lead Taz to a bed and patted it so Taz would sit. With a  _tut_ , Mac lead Up away as he collected some bandages, "Why's she here? Isn't there a refugee camp fifty klicks south? Do I look like I appreciate working for strays?" They approached Taz again and Up silenced the thin man with a glare.

"What happened?" He unrolled some crisp bandages and laid them out next to Taz.

"Some ensigns decided t' go explorin' for some treasure, they found 'bout 20 robots instead. The surviving robots destroyed her city." Mac raised an eyebrow and shook his head, he used his teeth to pull the cap off a needle and injected Taz with some blue stuff. Taz gripped the sides of the small hospital bed, remaining silent.

Mac spit out the cap of a small yellow tube into a trash can, "And who're you girl?" Taz remained silent, the injection had felt like ice and had turned into boiling lava, making her arm ache painfully. She made a face instead of responding.

Mac grinned, dimples forming on his face, "Charming. You really know how to pick 'em, Up." He guffawed and started binding Taz's cuts. He also slathered cream on her bruises and on her face and arms and neck. "This'll suck out any poison the 'bots might've hit you with."

Up suddenly felt his chest twinge with pain, "Uh, Mac?"

"Mmhmm?" He was carefully stitching Taz's leg and didn't turn around. Up carefully peeled his undershirt off and winced at his wounds. He sat down on the other side of the bed gingerly, Taz completely forgot the needle sowing her skin together when she turned to look at him.

Up turned to her and grinned, " Boilin' hot cooking oil. Gross innit?"

" _A la bestia_! What de hell happened?" Taz twisted around to get a good view of the mess mashed onto Up's chest.

"Dead Lord have mercy, it speaks!" Mac chuckled at his own joke, but was repaid with kick in the chest. "Yowch! Horrid child!" Mac fell back, landing on his backside and coughing to get his breath back. Up smiled and shook his head, "When you're done being a complete asshole to her I need you to scrape robot oil off me." Mac stood and nodded respectfully at Taz, "That was a good kick, You can come back here anytime for a sparring match with me. Or when you're hurt and need patching." Mac turned and when he caught sight of Up's torso he ran his hands through his hair and slowly shook his head, "Up..." he paused," I don't think that shits gonna come off unless we  _melt_  it offa you. Look at it, you look like a dead Goddamned Play-doh monster."

Taz stared at them, wide-eyed. Up nodded slowly, "Do it."

"Seriously?" A gleam like madness appeared in Mac's eyes, it made Taz nervous.

Up nodded, "Do what you have to, Mac."

Mac pushed his hair away from his forehead and patted Taz's head so she'd get off the bed. "I have to warn you, there aren't any other medics on call. I'm lone-wolf for the night. It'll be difficult-"

"I can't go around like this!" Up angrily gestured at himself.

"Oookay, let me cobble together something to do this, Dead God."

Up leaned back onto the pillows and finally took a proper look at Taz. She was short barely reaching his shoulders, her hair was a tangled, wavy mess. She faced away from him, staring wide-eyed at Mac's retreating back. He could see the line of her jaw curve gracefully and pool into her shoulders, but right now everything tense and tight. She was frightened, or nervous. Probably scared out of her wits. Though she was small, Up couldn't deny the utterly terrifying ferocity that poured from her stance. Even just standing there, she was ready to whip her knife out and stab someone, anyone. She turned around to say something to him but he didn't really process what she said, her eyes were too dark.

"Ow!" Up rubbed his calf, "What's yer problem?!" She was as annoying as a gnat.

"Jou had a stupid dream-look on jour face. It was annoying me. And jou ignored my question."

"Which was?" Up tried peeling some bits of fabric from his chest.

"Stop that," snapped Taz," I asked 'What happened?'"

"Where?"

She sighed, irritated. Up decided they were small bits of red earth, her eyes were large and- "Jour chest,  _estupido_! Are jou soft in de head,  _ese_? Did those robots smack jou around one too many times?" Up scowled and kicked her off his bed. "Hey!" She whirled on him, knife out, teeth bared.

Up was irritated with her. She was too small to be filled with so much hate, he understood that her family was gone, but why couldn't she be just sad? Why did Taz choose hate?  _Probably the same reason you did too._  Up shook the small voice off and tried to snatch the knife out of her grip. She whirled away with surprising speed. Up lunged over the bed, she slashed at him, grazing his arm. He kicked off his boots. "Pffft. If I was a robot jjjjou would jjjjhave been dead!" Up mocked her accent as he leapt over the bed, "Give over that knife, small-fry. Ya' don' even know how to hold it!" He stood before her, wearing a snarl, one hand straying to where his zapper would have been.

"No! Jou will have to take it from my cold-dead hands jou bastard!" Taz was furious, who did this man think he was? She skipped back a few feet, sneering, "Jou think I don't know how to fight?  _Vamos ese!_  Let's see how tough jou are!" She dropped to a fighting stance and held the knife at the ready. He lunged at her, punching the air around her head, not actually wanting to hurt her. She ducked and wove between his fists.

"Give it to me!" He used his reach to make wild lunges but she expertly ducked beneath his clumsy attempts.

"No!" Taz felt his knuckles brush her neck. She smacked his hand away with the flat of the knife, producing a flat ring from the metal.

She aimed a kick at him and he when he was off balance she tackled him. She let the knife drop and started punching his head, Up fell and crashed into the bed, right onto the floor. Recovering, Up rolled with her and managed to lock her hands to her sides, Taz bit his arms and managed to free one hand to hit him. But Up already had the upper hand and he used it, he pinned her to the ground, overpowering her through sheer weight. "Uhh... what are you doing Up?" Mac was standing there with a trolley full of odds and ends watching Up beating the shit out of a fifteen year old.

"He tried to take my knife!" Taz spat into his face. Up loosened his grip to wipe the spittle away. Still angry, she punched him in the eye. Little spots of light danced a two-step in front of him. Taz scrambled away and scooped the precious knife back into her arms, looking as if she was about to cry.

"You're a menace with that," Up scrambled to his feet, embarrassed, "You just want to stab someone, anyone. It makes  _me_ nervous." The girl had a strong arm. Mac looked at Taz over the top of his glasses, curly brown hair falling into his face. "Tell ya' what Tazzie, m'darling dearest patient..."

She looked at Mac suspiciously, "What?"

"You can stay here and help me torture Up but you have to put that knife down, or you can leave and listen to Up's screams from outside."

Taz considered this for a moment, "I'll stay." She took the knife sling off and carefully placed it on the table by the hospital bed and out of everyone’s reach.

"Right. Now Up, get on the bed and don't be too loud. I promise to be gentle since it's your first time." Mac wiggled his eyebrows at Up and grinned mischievously.

"Zombified Christ," muttered Up, but he lay down on the bed. "Here, Taz," Mac handed her what looked like a fluted gun," This is a heat gun. You aim that at Up's chest and I'll scrape off the melted oil. But don't hold it too close of you'll just reboil the goop, and not too far away neither." Taz nodded, "Got it." "Whoa there!" cried Up, "I'm not letting her point any type of gun at me!" Mac pursed his lips.

"Don't you trust me?" Taz bared her teeth at Up. Mac glared at Up, "There's no one else to help. You want this to go quickly or excrutiatingly slowly you numb-nuts?"

"I- well..." With a nervous twitch, Up lay back down.

" _No te preocupes._  I won't screw jou over. _"_  She looked determined and held the fluted gun to her chest. Mac marvelled at how quickly the girl let go of her anger and looked concerned, _she would make a good medic._ Mac opened a package of sterile bandages, "Shit. I forgot the sunburn gel. I'll be right back." Mac loped away.

Taz and Up stared at one another. "Sorry I tried to take your knife. Is it yours?" Up smoothed down the bandages around his arm. Taz took a big breath, "It was my dad's first, but then he gave it to my oldest brother and dat brother gave it to de second oldest... and so on." Taz looked down at her feet, she was exhausted, she hadn't slept in what seemed like weeks. She felt a hand on her shoulder but refused to look at him. "Look at me, Taz." Up patted her shoulder and she raised her eyes. "I know that you're angry, but that's not going to get you anywhere,"  _just like it hasn't gotten you anywhere?_ He ignored the voice in his head," You have to get the anger out and just  _mourn_  your family,"  _hypocrite hissed the voice_ , "Trust me. You can't fight with anger. You have to have something else to fight with. The hate's just a poison."

Taz refused to cry, "What do jou fight with, Up?"

Up considered this question seriously, "I've forgotten. But it wasn't hate. Now I'm just really good at my job." Taz lowered her eyes and Up realized that might've the worst thing to say. They remained in uncomfortable silence until Mac came back; he unceremoniously slathered green goop on Up's chest and flicked on the heat-gun's power-source before handing it back to Taz.

Gingerly, Taz aimed the heat gun at the mess that was Up's chest and saw before her eyes the oil liquefy and begin to run down, "Quickly now," muttered Mac to himself. Deftly, the oily-wax-shit-thing from Up's chest was scraped and tapped into a bowl. She was careful to avoid as much of Up's real skin as possible. They spent hours getting the oil off the lieutenant, Taz melting and Mac scraping; Up began to sweat half an hour into the ordeal and by the end of the first hour his face had turned beet red, his knuckles pale as curdled oatmeal.

He refused to scream in front of Taz, but Up gripped the sides of the bed so hard that the thin mattress would be permanently deformed.. Taz kept one eye on his face, noting that every time he moved or was touched by the silver scraper he grimaced and clenched his jaw into a tighter knot.

 _Honestly,_  Up thought _, I should get a fucking award for not screaming_ , every time the girl aimed the gun at him his insides writhed like scorpions with pain. Up counted slowly in his head, then he would lose his place, choose a new number and continue counting, he thought maybe five hours had passed, or ten. A month? He had no fucking clue. The lights over his bed began dancing in fantastic colors and he thought he spied a dragon in the corner, slicking it's hungry maw towards him….

"We're done!" Mac announced happily, "And a dead goddamned good job at that. You'll have minimal scarring since we just melted your skin to a normal-ish consistency. And the healing bandages should work wonders on you too. High five Taz!"

Taz just stared at Up. "Orrr, not..." Mac took a wooden spoon and began dropping gobs of green gel on Up. "This'll make some of the pain go away and you won't get too much of a burn-"

"He's asleep-" pointed out Taz.

Mac snorted," Probably just fainted. C'mon kid. You need some clothes and I know my wife would love to meet you." Taz followed Mac away from Up and out of the hospital.

0000000000000000000000000000000000

Groggily, Up stirred from his dreams. There had been a wolf made of fire stalking him, it had growled something, it had  _talked_ , Zombie Christ he was going stir crazy.

Searing pain knifed its way from his waist to his neck, gingerly Up touched his tightly wrapped torso, "Shit." He grimaced again, even talking was a bad idea. He hoped nothing exciting happened for two days, at least. He looked around, surprised to see Taz curled under a woolly blanket on a couch next to the bed, her face was softened and he rather liked seeing her face devoid of murderous intentions. How long had he been out? He sat up and looked for someone to ask, a medic walked in to his curtained-off area, "Lieutenant Up?" He nodded, "You've been out for most of the day, it's about 6pm. How do you feel? Do you want some medicine?"

"Naw," he lied, "I'm fine, thank ya'." The medic smiled and patted Taz's head, "She's been here the whole day. Dr. Mac had to drag her away so she would eat." Up nodded and the medic left.

He slid out of the bed and began rummaging the bedside table for a shirt. "Hey! Where are jou going? Mac said not to get up, jour skin is all..." she wiggled her fingers and grimaced. Up smiled, "I have ta find a shirt Taz."

"There is one in de bottom drawer, Mac said it was  _especial_  for jou," Taz unwrapped herself from the blanket and pushed Up to the side. She pulled out a black long sleeve from the night stand and tossed it at him, "Are jour eyes mmm, what’s the word, azul _?"_  Up stuck his head through the shirt, it fit a little too tight but he figured that was on purpose; the airy, tight material felt good," What's azel? My eyes aren't hazel, they're blue." Taz grinned, "Dat's what azul means, _menso_..blue... Right, I had forgotten _._ "

Up scowled, he didn't understand a lick of Spanish but he could understand her tone, "Why do you curse so much?"

Taz shook out her black hair, "First of all, dat wasn't a  _real_  curse word, and secondly,  _mi mama_  cursed like a sailor. It's in my genes to curse." Up laughed, "Cursin' ain't genetics. It's habit. Nice threads, where'd you get 'em?" Taz spun on one foot," They're nice,  _No?_ Ophelia gave them to me." Up noticed that she said Ophelia's name differently, the vowels and consonants pronounced in the front of her mouth instead of at the back. She wore baggy grey jeans and combat boots with a standard issued black ensign's top. "Very nice," agreed Up, but he wasn't looking at Taz as he said it, he stared at someone who had just walked into the hospital.

"Isa!" he happily called out to her. Smiling, Isa trotted over to them and carefully hugged Up, "I heard Mac was doing some new procedure on you, how'd it go? No lost bits?" Up spread his arms, "I'm alive." Isa laughed and turned towards Taz, "How're you doing? I heard you helped. Congrats on not killing Up. He's one of the best. We can't afford to lose him." Taz offered a smirk and retreated to her chair, pulling out a book from between the cushions. Curious, Up turned, "What're you reading?"

"Paradise Lost" Taz flipped to page 394 and continued reading.

Isa raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Anyways, Pryce is asking you to come and talk to him after dinner." Up frowned, "Do you know why?" Isa shook her head, "Nope, but it's dinner time right now. Aren't you both starving?" Taz leapt up from the couch, "Yes!" She grabbed Up and Isa's arms and pulled them to the door of the hospital.

On their way to the mess hall, Isa and Up talked about what was going on in the war. Taz wasn't really interested in the  _puto_  robots, so instead she gazed around her at the trees and scenery that Pryce was so proud of. She kept bumping into Up and even tripped into a hedge until he finally just kept hsi hand on her shoulder. Once they reached the mess hall Up let her go and handed her a green tray. There were a lot of ensigns and lieutenants and even some lieutenant-commanders crowding the line but Isa just shoved her way into the thick of it, not caring about the glares that were thrown at her.

"She's totally awesome," said Taz reverently. Up snorted and nudged her to keep the line moving. "I wouldn't try and copy her, she's often in trouble for some reason or another. The only reason she hasn't gotten demoted is that she's so great at R&D."

"Are you being  _nice_  Up?" Isa approached them with her tray full, grinning broadly. Up's jaw line tinged pink, "I was telling Taz why you haven't gotten demoted." Taz smiled broadly at the sneer that Isa gave Up, "Hmph, I'll  _maybe_  save you two losers a place!"

 


	4. Hot Potato

Taz and Up piled food onto their plates and found Isa near a table at the back, shoveling mashed potatoes into her mouth. Silently, Up tucked in to his food. Taz looked around while she ate. People were staring at her curiously and impudently, she stared right back. She wasn't sorely out of place but she was  _a lot_  younger than most people here. Taz turned her attention back to her own table. Most of the people were Lieutenants and Lt.-Commanders; Taz looked at Isa carefully, she had flyaway curly gold hair and dark hazel eyes, she sported a collection of scars on her hands and face but Taz judged her to be 20 something although she couldn't be sure. The cafeteria was noisy and rowdy, she could hardly hear herself think; she spied a familiar curly-haired ensign talking animatedly with a bushy-haired, large-toothed girl. When she turned her attention back, she saw Up trying to say something to the person next to him through a giant piece of chicken wedged into his mouth. His dark hair flopped to one side and Taz could see he had a few silver-grey hairs. He turned to look at her and she chuckled at the chicken strip falling out of his mouth.

"You're disgusting, Up." Isa flicked a bit of potato at him, he dodged it and managed to swallow the mouthful, "I have no idea why you would say that to me, Lieutenant Isa." He widened his eyes in fake earnestness, Taz finally got a good look at how truly blue his eyes were, Isa laughed and sent another potato bit at him. Taz decided they were the exact same color as the plasma that powered the energy reactors around the galaxy.

"Where am I going to sleep tonight?" Taz and Up had bid Isa a good night and were headed towards the hospital compound, meandering amongst the pathways, going in no particular direction. Up cocked his head. "I s'ppose you can sleep in the hospital, 'til we can drive you t' a refugee camp."

"Right."

Up gazed down at Taz, "Don' ya want t' go t' a camp? Ya sound angry." Taz wanted to take out the knife and stab the tree they just passed, she wanted to stab the bush, the ground, herself, "I do  _not_  want to go to a  _mentado campaniento_. I want...-" They arrived at the familiar green and white building and Taz fell silent.

Up sighed in frustration," Well there's nowhere  _else_  t' go, unless you'd rather go t' an orphanage and I don' know where t' find one o' those." Taz shook her head, "There  _are_ other places. I'll just sleep in the hospital tonight,  _buenas noches Up_." She patted his arm and turned to go inside the hospital.

"Goodnight Taz, sweet dreams." Taz turned around, gave him a funny look and shut the door behind her.  _Why would you tell her that_ , the voice sneered at him,  _why would she have sweet dreams? Her family just got_ ** _killed_** _._  Up scratched his head and pushed his hair away from his eyes, he couldn't imagine Taz having nightmares, but it was possible. He turned and hurried to Pryce's office.

"You wanted to see me Commander?" Up entered the large office and stood behind the desk. "Mmhm, tuk a s't." Pryce had papers in his mouth and motioned for Up to take a seat. "H'w y've b'n?"

"Er Pryce, man. I cannot understan' a blasted word you're sayin'," Up sat down. Pryce laughed and let the papers fall from his mouth, "Sorry Up, I was trying to keep some apart from the rest, but as you can see," he gestured at the disaster of his desk," That's proving quite impossible." He picked up the spit out papers and placed them on the floor. "I wanted to ask you what you wanted to do with the girl, since you seem to have taken her under your wing."

Up was caught off guard," Uh...I guess..." he shook his head, "Shouldn't she go to a refugee camp?"

Pryce squinted at him, "Sure?

Up was annoyed, "What else am I s'ppose to do with her? She's a child."

Pryce shrugged," You seemed attached to her, Up. And let's be honest, you haven't been OK since the attack on the D.F." Up glared at him and Pryce held his hands up," I'm just pointing out that you've smiled more  _today_  than the past six months. Even with Isa around."

Up sunk low into his seat, thinking. Pryce was his best friend, he could be truthful with him, "There  _have_  been a lot of nightmares. And even when I'm just walkin' around base, sometimes I'll see people's faces turn into robot face-plate. It's crazy as shit and I 'm afraid I'll fly off the handle." Pryce's forehead scrunched in concentration, "Well, maybe it'd help if you kept the girl close for a little while. And she could be useful to the base as a civilian-runner, it’s a common enough job. And she’s not that young is she? ." Up scowled, "No, but that sounds dangerous." Pryce looked incredulous, "Civilian-runners are almost  _never_ in danger. Zombie Jesus, Up! I don't want you going bat-shit crazy, I can't afford to lose you; not only are you  _the_  best lieutenant the League has  _ever_  had _,_ " Pryce slammed is fist into the table," but you're also my best friend! Either you keep your head on straight by mentoring that girl or it's off to the loony bin with you!"

Furious, Up leapt from his chair and kicked it into the wall, "You ARE NOT putting her in danger!"

"Or what-?" Pryce also leapt to his feet, snarling, "For dead God's sake Up, you have to put the past behind you. Hakuna Matata and all that shit!" Pryce abandoned trying to organize his papers and jumped around the desk.

**BOOM...!**

Pryce was thrown into Up, who pin-wheeled his arms for a second before crashing onto and breaking his chair. The lights short-circuited, leaving them in darkness.

"The fuck?" "No idea..."

They both lay there in silence for two seconds before blue shrill sirens began wailing all over the place. Up leapt to his feet, dragging his Commander along with him. He kicked the door open and found, to his horror that most of the base was on fire. A screaming plane flew overhead, making their ears ring. Pryce ducked back inside and soon reappeared holding two flaming-zappers and one regulation zapper. Up pointed towards the direction of the hospital and Pryce smirked, "The girl?" They ran the whole way, Up had to bite his tongue to the point where it was bleeding.

His heart loosened when he saw that the hospital was still standing, they barged inside looking for the medics and Taz. The deafening roar of the jets was louder inside, "GET THE PATIENTS, AND THE GIRL."

Up didn't even nod, just dashed away. He found Taz huddled with the five other ensigns near the supply closet. He looked at the ensigns, most were still pretty banged up, the only one on her feet was Taz so he handed the regulation zapper to her. "You point and you pull the trigger, okay?" Taz sheathed her knife and gripped the zapper a little too desperately for Up's taste. He shifted his zapper to one arm and helped carry an ensign with broken legs towards the exit. Pryce appeared with most of the staff and they relieved him of the ensign, he motioned for Taz to stick close to them. Pryce turned to Taz, "No matter what. Don't leave Up, okay?"

"Okay." Pryce could see her shaking, her legs buckling under her. They were all standing outside, completely exposed, but Pryce turned around and gripped Taz's shoulders so tightly that she could feel her pulse under his fingers. "No!" he stared directly into her eyes, "I mean it! SWEAR that you won't leave his side. It's dangerous to go alone!" Taz screamed back," I got it!" She screamed some gibberish in Spanish that Pryce ignored.

They made their way across the base, picking up stragglers and shooting down robots that approached them. Taz hugged the zapper tightly but seemed to forget what it was for. Up knew where they were headed as soon as the building came into sight "Pile them in Mac!" Pryce signaled to Mac and his staff to enter the hangar. Pryce ran around the hangar and was pleased to discover a medium sized space cruiser in the back. The Commander signaled Mac into the ship, "Get them on board!" Pryce and Up proceeded to throw open the front hangar doors so people could run in to safety. Then Pryce ran to a sleekly built starship and started pulling on a flight suit. Up followed him, "What're ya doing Pryce?"

"Gonna give you guys cover! Get the other flyers to help out." Up went to talk to the large group forming in the middle of the hangar. He spotted Taz hanging near the fringe of the group and nodded to her briefly. Once Up was leading the flyers back to Pryce, Taz wandered away from the main group to the doors, she peeked out. Shining autobots were dropping bombs and there was a wave of robots coming over the walls. She felt a thrill run down her spine and gripped her zapper a bit tighter.

"Help!"

Taz's eyes roved the flaming base, it looked like a Welsh Greenback had taken up residence...

"Help!"

THERE! Taz debated for two seconds and then left the hangar. Dodging flaming debris, she dashed to the voice, "Lieutenant Isa!" She crouched and tried to pry the twisted metal away from the lieutenant's legs with one hand, she propped the zapper by her and tried using both hands; it budged, barely. "Robot!" Taz scooped the zapper into her hands and leapt behind a piece of debris, twisting in midair around to shoot. She landed safely behind a twsted piece of metal and continued to shoot,  her teeth chattering as much as the gun, until the robot lay smoking.

"Thank Dead God," sighed Isa, "Now go get Up!" Taz shook her head, "I can do it!" Isa tried pulling herself out but she only ended up embedding the metal deeper into her leg. "No, you can't Taz, the metal's too big and there are more robots coming!" Taz shoved the zapper into Isa's hands," There's no time! Make jourself useful. I don't see anything blocking jour hands." Isa laughed and nodded, "Point." Taz kneeled by Isa again and began prying the metal back, there was a lot of blood oozing. Taz struggled to lift the large metal piece, she tightened her back and pulled with all her might. She could feel the muscles in her neck snap taught; the zapper fire faded as though far away. Cursing and screaming, Taz dug her heels into the earth and pulled the metal away from Isa.

"Ouch!" Isa flinched, missing a robot, she recocked the gun and killed it. "Hey! I can move my legs!" She tossed the zapper to Taz who sprayed fire at the five robots, missing completely but making the robots second guess their targets. "Aim a little higher," Isa advised while she struggled and wiggled out from under the metal. She finally collapsed at Taz's feet, panting and shaking, her legs covered in blood. Taz sat down too, her right knee felt funny. Pulling Isa to her feet and ignoring her knee, Isa wrapped an arm around Taz's waist, she took the zapper. They slowly made their way across the base towards the hangar. Isa looked to the sky and could see several of their fighter jets streaking amongst the airborne bots. As they approached the hangar they saw Up and Vasili struggling to keep back a wave of robots from entering the hangar. Frightened at being left behind, Isa and Taz rushed to the hangar and as soon as they were inside Vasili slammed the doors shut and started screaming at Taz.

Taz ignored Vasili and kept her eyes on the ground, sure that Up was glaring at her. Up roughly grabbed her left arm, grabbed Isa's right arm and half-dragged, half-carried both of them into the sleek GLEE cruiser waiting for them. "I can walk, thanks." Isa coldly snatched her arm back and went to sit down at her designated place in the starship.

"Taz."

Taz refused to look up from the hatched steel floor of the cruiser, she heard him sigh and allowed herself to be dragged into a seat.

Up eyed the girl uneasily. She was sitting in the passenger seat, glaring at the floor as if wishing to combust. She carefully strapped herself in and gripped the arm rests desperately when Pryce called for take-off. Up turned back to his station and adjusted his gun, making sure the ship's shields were functioning and that the flyers had given them a clear shot for the stars. "All systems go, Commander," he drawled into his mike set. Pryce's voice boomed from his chair, "Let's get the hell out of here then!"

Lt. Vasili gunned the ship's throttle and they smashed through the hangar's back wall. There were fewer robots there, before the autobots realized what had happened, the blue and green starship, plus its escort of fighter ships, were clear of the danger.


End file.
